"Delivering boys to men" - a Principal's Reflection

There are many challenges and rewards when we look at the journey of our young men in our care. Adolescent males are highlighted in the media for many of the wrong reasons and society often treats teenage males negatively until they have at least passed their adolescent years.

At Francis Douglas Memorial College, boys have been our core business for over 60 years. Our mission statement is focused on educating students for life by providing a human and Christian education. Our hope is to navigate things that can hold young males back and provide them with a hope filled future.

There are factors which hold young men back from reaching their potential and our Catholic Lasallian College seeks to address these and prepare our boys to be, "Good College Men".

Our focus this year is on the core Lasallian value - 'Quality Education'. We seek to deliver the students towards success by focusing on the following:

• -aising literacy across every year level.
• emphasis on creating good college men by involvement in extracurricular activities e.g. music groups, sports teams, kapa haka, special character groups. This face-to-face interaction is critical for growing stronger communities.
• strengthening their self-management skills, to prepare them for everyday College life and beyond our school gates.
• the expectation that every boy must be suitably qualified to enter tertiary study or access the Career Pathway Programme to pursue employment, supported by our well-staffed Careers and Guidance Department.
• the value of respect for all staff, students and families. Being a man of service to others trumps the focus on self.
• regular prayer and Catholic and Lasallian rituals to give young men the opportunity for internal reflection.

There are many additional ways that boys grow into fine young men at Francis Douglas Memorial College. The holistic approach to education we provide enables opportunities for our young men to reach their own excellence, their own potential.  While society and the media tend to zoom in on the negatives around adolescent males, we constantly look to how we can celebrate and raise the profile of our "Good College Men," so that they become men of faith, men of service and men who add value to our community.